Light fixtures such as fluorescent light fixtures and their associated components may be termed “luminaires” in the art. For example a luminaire may be defined as a complete lighting unit comprising a lamp or lamps together with a housing designed to distribute the light, to position and to protect the lamps, and to connect the lamps to a power supply. Thus, it is common to use a reflector as a component of the luminaire to redistribute the light from the lamps in a desired direction. Parabolic reflectors for example, are widely in luminaires to direct light in a single direction. Elliptical reflectors are also used in luminaires to direct light to a single point. It follows that the chosen shape or contour of the reflector determines in large part the distribution and intensities of reflected light.
Additionally, the formalized study of ornamental lighting and professional lighting design, and the expectation of a typical user, has become more rigorous. For example, when a sign on an office building is illuminated, modern users expect the lighting to be of desired intensity and to be projected onto the target surface accurately and uniformly with minimal spill light and without streaking or intensity lines. Additionally, users do not want to see the lamp itself or the glare from the lamp. Thus, there is a need to rigorously study and further develop shaped reflectors used as luminaires in the art.
The present invention represents at least an improvement over the original Elliptipar™ reflector (U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,893) designed by one of the present applicants. The original reflector design used a single elliptical segment and two parabolic segments. The new design uses four segments including a ballast cover, with multiple sub-segments as described below.
The present invention discloses advantages as compared to the art as described in detail below.